Lena Pareto medverkar i konferensen Framtidens Lärande i Nacka och presenterar Rutiga Familjen under seminariet Matematik – med datorer, internet och digitala spel som har temat: ”Vad kan IT tillföra i matematikundervisningen?”

Spela och lär en agent – och förstå aritmetik

Under Fas I av Skolverkets satsning på matematik i Uddevalla 2011-2013 har idag Högskolan Väst i Trollhättan i samarbete med 6 skolor från Uddevalla kommun sin första projektkonferens under namnet Vår matematik dag på Dalabergsskolan i Uddevalla.

Under denna heldag erbjuds en gemensam inledning om förmågor/kompetenser i matematik utifrån Lgr 11 följd av tre pass med följande innehåll:

1. Spela med Lena – Rutiga familjen, där lärarna testar spelet med handledning och ställer sina frågor till Lena Pareto, spelets skapare.

2. Labba med Learning studies – Kollegialt lärande. Introduktion av ”Learning studies” med Kjell Svanström, kommunal samordnare för Matematiksatsningen 2011 samt med Livia Norström och Lena Nilsson från Högskolan Väst.

3. Leka med Louise – Varför satsa på matematik? Hur kan vi göra matematikundervisningen mer laborativ, lockande och begriplig? med Louise Alström, utvecklingspedagog i matematik och svenska.

Dagsprogram:

8.30 – 9.30 Inledning
9.30 – 10.00  Kaffe
10.00 – 11.30  Pass 1
11.30 – 12.30  Lunch
12.30 – 14.00  Pass 2
14.00 – 14.30  Kaffe
14.30 – 16.00  Pass 3
16.00 – 16.30  Avslutning

I den vetenskapliga tidskriften Educational Technology Research and Development publiceras följande artikel 2012: A teachable-agent-based game affording collaboration and competition: evaluating math comprehension and motivation (eftersom artikeln publiceras internationellt, är den på engelska).
Abstrakt: This paper presents an educational game in mathematics based on an apprenticeship model using a teachable agent, as well as an evaluative study of how the game affects (1) conceptual understanding and (2) attitudes towards mathematics. In addition, we discuss how collaborative and competitive affordances of the game may affect understanding and motivation. 19 students played the game in pairs once a week during math lessons for 7 weeks (the game-playing group) while another 19 students followed the regular curriculum (the control group). Math comprehension scores increased significantly for the game-playing group but not the control group (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in attitude change between the two groups. Post hoc analyses indicated that game-playing primarily affected students’ confidence in explaining math to a peer, but not their enjoyment of doing so. Collaborative and competitive activities seem to carry a strong motivational influence for students to play the game. » Läs mer

En ny artikel ”A Teachable Agent Game Engaging Primary School Children to Learn Arithmetic Concepts and Reasoning” har publicerats i en internationell tidskrift om intelligenta spel och andra digitala verktyg i skolmiljö: International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education av Springer

(eftersom artikeln publiceras internationellt, är den på engelska).
Abstrakt:  In this paper we will describe a learning environment designed to foster conceptual understanding and reasoning in mathematics among younger school children. The learning environment consists of 48 2-player game variants based on a graphical model of arithmetic where the mathematical content is intrinsically interwoven with the game idea. The environment also features teachable agents, which are computer programs that can be taught and behave according to their knowledge. Thus, the environment provides both learning-by-doing (playing the game) and learning-by-teaching (teaching the agent to play). It differs from other learning-by-teaching systems 1) by targeting basic mathematics and primary grade students; 2) by using teachable agents as an extension to educational games in order to leverage engagement, reflection and learning; and 3) by using an agent-driven question dialogue to challenge students’ mathematical thinking, to role-model learner behaviour and to transfer game knowledge to out-of-game mathematics. The teachable agent game is described and evaluated in an authentic classroom study enrolling 443 students from 22 classes in 9 schools. Students range from 2^nd to 6^th grade of mainstream classes and 7^th to 8^th grade for students with difficulties in mathematics. Part of the study was designed as a quasi-experimental study with controls; part was designed to examine students’ change in mental models of arithmetic before and after game play. All students took pre- and post mathematics tests. The 314 playing students used the game and taught their agents during regular math-classes for three months, whereas the control classes attended standard instruction and took the tests. A questionnaire was distributed in the end of the study to investigate students’ perceptions and performances of the agent-tutoring task. Results show that 1) there is a significant learning gain for playing student compared to controls, 2) the learning environment can engage children in advanced mathematical thinking in early education, 3) that young primary students can act as successful tutors. Thus, we conclude that teachable agents is a candidate for leveraging learning in educational games to deeper levels that transfer outside the game. This idea combines the motivational power of games with the reflective power of a teachable agent asking though-provoking, deep questions on the learning material during game play.

Pareto, L. (2014). A Teachable Agent Game Engaging Primary School Children to Learn Arithmetic Concepts and Reasoning. In International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Volume 24, Issue 3, pp 251-283. Springer New York.

Rutiga Familjen deltar och används i  Lund Universitets projekt  ”Digitala dialoger – interaktion med digitala karaktärer via persondatorer och interaktiva skrivtavlor” som ingår i KK Stiftelsens program Unga Nätkulturer. Projektet handlar om att i samverkan med ungdomar i åldern 12 – 16 år kartlägga skeenden i pedagogiska dialoger mellan ungdomar och digitala karaktärer i digitala läromedel.

”Uddevalla slog storslam i regeringens mattesatsning. En speciell satsning i staden får 2,5 miljoner kronor i bidrag från Skolverket, vilket är det tredje största i Sverige.”
Tidningsartikel Bohusläningen, onsdag 6 april 2011 » Läs mer